Oil prices continued to rise on Thursday and returned to peaks more reached since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, supported by a contained offer from members of OPEC + and the prospect of an American recovery plan after the victory Democrats in the state of Georgia.
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At around 10:40 a.m. GMT (11:40 a.m. in Paris), a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in March gained 0.20% in London from the previous day's close, to 54.41 dollars, shortly after touching 54, 90 dollars, a price more seen since February 26, 2020. The US barrel of WTI for the month of February climbed from its side 0.55% to 50.91 dollars after having reached its highest since February 25 at 51, 28 dollars.
The rise of the two benchmark prices "
continues, although at a slower pace than the previous session,
" observed Craig Erlam, analyst at Oanda.
"
The oil markets continue to feed on the unilateral reduction in its production of black gold by Saudi Arabia, to which is added the victory of the Democrats in Georgia,
" he continued.
Read also: US crude oil inventories fall for the 4th week in a row
At the end of the first summit of members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their partners on Tuesday, the Saudi leader announced a voluntary and additional cut to the current agreement of a million barrels per day in February and March, enough to reassure the market as the recovery in demand remains fragile.
The production of the other producers will remain unchanged over the period, apart from Russia and Kazakhstan, which will increase theirs but at the margin.
